Light bulbs

[John F]

Need to replace stern light bulb and interior cabin bulbs on '87 Newport 30.The bulb itself has the number 1152, which I looked up on GE.com - found that it is a 12.8 volt, 17 watt bulb.Here's my dumb question since I know nothing about electronics: my house battery is a 12volt. Why does the boat call for a 12.8volt bulb, and what is the equivalent bulb I can buy at West Marine??It's a double connector.Thanks.

 

[Roger (Ninette Manitoba)]

any 12 v bulb

any 12 v bulb with the proper socket config will do as long as it also fits in the housing. Try going to an 1152 LED bulb for a bit more money. It will last longer, and take up less juice. 0.8 of a volt does not matter when your battery at full charge could read as high as 13.25 volts!

 

[John Denison]

Re: 12v bulb

Almost all 12 volt lamps are originally designed for automotive use. You should be able to find it in a hardware or automotive store. They are mostly rated from 12.0 to 14.0 volts. Any will work in a boat. The only thing that will be affected is the brightness and life of the lamp itself. If you use a 12.0 rated lamp it will be very bright (white) but not last as long because it is working at its maximum rating or more. If you use a 14.0 rated lamp it will not be as bright (yellow) but may last twice as long. You get one or the other: Life or brightness. When they originally design automotive lamps they look at where it is going to be used and if it is in an inacessible location (under the dash) then they design the filament to raise the voltage rating sufficient to make it last a long time. John

 

[Stu Jackson]

The West Marine catalogs have

pictures of all sorts of light bulbs that you can use to compare what you have to what you need.